Do Migraines Change The Brain?

October 24, 2016

CNN recently released an article on a study that focused on the structure of the brain and questioned whether migraines changed the brain. They specifically focused on three abnormalities that could be detected by MRI.

1) brain lesions,

2) white matter abnormalities, and

3) brain volume changes in the gray and white matter regions.

The study suggested that migraines may permanently change brain structures. There were 6 population based studies and 13-clinic based studies to see whether this was true for people who suffer from migraines.

The study found that white matter abnormalities were not linked to migraines and that migraines didn’t alter the brain.

Of course, they don’t alter the brain, those who suffer migraines have a more complex brain than a regular brain. This just means that the brain of a migraineur is very different from the start, working many times harder using more voltage. Thus migraines don’t change the brain: migraine brains are different brains to start with.

Migraines are debilitating but can be prevented. Learning to pay attention to the factors that cause pain means that changing lifestyle will help a migraineurs live a migraine-free life. It’s not easy to do; it takes a lot of dedication and commitment to understand that supplying the brain of a migraineur with the nutrients it needs means learning what those nutrients are and supply them in greater amount than a brain that uses less energy.

A migraineur’s #1 important task is to keep the brain’s electrolyte in homeostasis.